Comments On The News Today

This morning, the first piece of news that caught my eye is the report of a bomb blast in Peshawar, Pakistan, that killed 21 people and injured almost 100.

Note: Pakistan suffers because of terrorism too.

In the meantime, the new home minister, P Chidambaram, has admitted to “serious security and intelligence lapses.”

There seems to be no agency of our The State that actually works.

Not even the PWD.

How are Indian citizens responding?

The Economic Times reports that many people are going shopping for guns – but the licensing system is a hindrance. A gun dealer is quoted as saying that people without criminal records have a “right” to own guns. Indeed, they do. And gun licenses to such people should be issued without delay or bribery – as a “right.”

The ToI has another report that says business is booming for private security agencies. Better to put your money into buying guns and paying for private security than paying taxes to our The State to fund another “federal agency to tackle terror” – something the new home minister is making noises about.

And private security agencies should be issued gun licenses too.

In the meantime, Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi is about to announce a new “stimulus package” for the faltering economy. His anti-commerce minister, Kamal Nutt, is talking about subsidized loans for exporters. How about a stimulus for importers too, Mr. Nutt?

I wonder why Chacha Manmohan did not take over the home ministry? The reason could well be that he has no experience of hard-core government. He has always worked in “economic ministries” and this is his specialization.

In socialist India, all baboos coveted jobs in economic ministries. None wanted to get into home affairs. Chacha Manmohan is one of that lot.

Yet, in a free economy, there is no need for powerful mandarins to oversee the activities of entrepreneurs in markets. Indeed, The State in a free economy must mainly concern itself with the serious business of policing.

This points to an ideological error on Sonia’s part. She chose Chacha as PM because she believed that running the economy was the most important task of her government.

And Chacha agreed.

Nutts rule our land.